The Bowery Hotel

If you’re looking for a trendy bolthole in the lively East Village, The Bowery might be just the ticket. The light-filled bedrooms, many with splendid views, must be some of the most attractive in Manhattan and with a rustic Italian restaurant and handsome public spaces, you really can’t go wrong.

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£278per night

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Location

8/10

Located in the East Village, The Bowery is well located for exploring Manhattan. The achingly cool Lower East Side is famed for its lively nightlife and the hotel is surrounded by stylish bars and restaurants. Bleecker Street metro station is just a four-minute walk away making the rest of the city easily accessible.

Style & character

7/10

Occupying a 17-storey, faux-factory building, The Bowery towers over much of the low-rise East Village. The décor in the lobby-lounge is handsome, with mounted antlers and intricate tapestries covering the walls, and velvet upholstered chairs threading through to the patio. Potted plants pop up from behind sofas and the wood-panelled walls create a warm atmosphere, particularly when the fire is lit.

With newspapers waiting on side tables and Old-World paintings adorning the walls, the hotel feels very sophisticated. One huge flaw: it’s terribly dark in the public areas. Perhaps this is to keep the exclusivity – there’s absolutely no photos allowed in the lobby-lounge.

Service & facilities

6/10

Whether the staff are simply aloof, or that’s simply the way of the trendy Manhattan hotel, I couldn’t tell. Reception staff were perfectly helpful, but they lacked the welcoming air one expects when checking in. Doormen were polite and smartly dressed, although they weren’t always at their stations. The wait staff flitting about the lobby-lounge felt somewhat critical and slightly haughty.

There’s little in the way of facilities, but a small gym on the bottom floor is a welcome addition. Complimentary bicycles can be rented on request.

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Rooms

8/10

With light flooding through those huge factory-style windows, the 135 guestrooms at The Bowery are truly lovely. Some may be slightly on the small side, this fact well-concealed by large mirrors across one wall, but many have unrivalled views over the East Village rooftops. The rooms are resplendent in dark wood furnishings, with emerald green and bright orange flourishes seen in the velvet upholstery or across the bedspread embroidery. Attractive rugs cover some of the floors, but the feel is neat and cleanly. The marble bathrooms feel luxurious, complete with C.O. Bigelow Bath products.

Food & drink

9/10

Gemma is a destination in its own right. The rustic Tuscan feel of the beamed ceilinged restaurant is a welcome change to the former grit East Village. Distressed wooden tables are tightly tucked in between booths, while bottles of wine and copper pots and pans hang from the walls. Serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, Gemma offers a whole-heartedly Italian menu, serving the likes of Parmigiana ($16/£12), baked eggplant, mozzarella and tomato sauce, followed by Tortelli al Tartufo Estivo ($20/£15), buffalo ricotta tortelli, summer truffles, green squash and pine nuts, finishing off with a Calzone di Nutella ($16/£12), calzone filled with nutella and ricotta. It’s good-quality comfort food.